VertiGIS aims to:

1.Offer data models that are practical and easy to maintain;  

2.Maintain and develop the models on an ongoing basis;

3.Enable the deployment of technical and practical configurations for VertiGIS Networks Solutions via the model structure.  

The data models and configurations form part of the domain package. VertiGIS offers support for the “domain package” product. The defined general conditions and conventions for the scalability of the data models ensure that support can be guaranteed.  

Esri’s technical constraints of the utility network (UN) with regard to customization also restrict extension options for the utility network model. The following websites provide more information about this:

•Overview of configuration options  

•Conditions and parameters of the respective tools for UN administration

Depending on this, certain utility network definitions can only be expanded on the asset package and not in the production environment. This, in turn, means that the data would have to be exported as an asset package, adjusted and re-imported as an asset package. The versioning and historical information is lost. The subnetworks must also be recreated.

 

The following sections describe which model extensions are supported by VertiGIS and which naming conventions must be complied with. The defined extension options and conventions were set up with the following objectives:

•Models can be better and more easily supported (transparency, clarity);

•Extensions by administrators do not jeopardize the proper functioning of the utility network grid with VertiGIS Networks’ applications and Esri’s standard applications;

•In future, provision of an update mechanism will be possible that supports the update from one version of the VertiGIS Networks’ data model to the next, and does not overwrite customer extensions in doing so.

 

Attention: if the described constraints and conventions are not complied with, the update capability cannot be ensured. Support may also request an additional fee to analyze and resolve reported issues (if the reported issue relates to model extensions).  

VertiGIS also offers support within the scope of paid project services.

 

Model extensions are divided into the following three parts:

1.Data model properties for the correct functioning of the utility network;

2.Data model elements to support the functionality of the applications in relation to the network (topology and attribute data);

3.Additional data model objects that do not directly affect the utility network.

In addition to complying with the described options and conventions, we recommend that partners label their extensions in order to make their updates easier. With an extension prefix, for example, they can better differentiate which extensions were made by them and which by the end customer. No extra mechanisms for this are provided by VertiGIS. A VertiGIS update would only take into account the conventions described below.